Fallen Leaves
By Ian Valencia
Worrying over fallen leaves
Shattered glass and broken dreams
Repeated history is no mystery
With deep roots like age old trees
Built on the backs of my relations
My soul cries in agony,
Look what the future brings
Empty homes and broken dreams
Cages with no keys
Deep cuts that bleed
Tones of ink
Why is this happening?
Snow falls, and cement heats
Next, we worry over fallen leaves
In denial of the cycle we see
We are the heart this system needs
But our roots run just as deep
I trace my lines through Geronimo’s aging face.
A map of things to come
Despair and worry for a warrior
Is as heartbreaking as a child’s tear
The weight of the world is snapping
Fragile branches, faster that we can grow
Out of the shadows of the past.
Open your eyes if you wish to see
Stop worrying over fallen leaves
Sew with threads of thought and mend your dreams
Watch as aspirations take roots and grow
Into something new and wise and old
Battered by unbroken, take heed my warrior’s soul!
You Could’ve Been Me
By Ian Valencia
I’ve been castigated
Hyper-criminalized and Marginalized
Deemed unfit to succeed
My potential minimized and squeezed
To fit the mold, I was foreseen to be stuck in
By your eyes I do not fit
You serve and protect everyone but me
DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!
I’m scared
Yet being cast through the fires of your hellish perception
I’m cast iron
Furrows in my brow – Fuck you!
My heart beats to the rhythm of gunshots
Gang signs and sirens
The comforts of my home
This is my place
In a cage
Raging against my fate
Maniacal laughing with those that relate
My thoughts are racing
The system is race-basing
I’m free falling, outpacing my reverse potential
My tears are torrential, but still I smile
I know a secret you won’t admit
I can’t forget my childhood
Trained was I, like a dog on the run
RUN YOU LITTLE SHIT, I’LL SHOOT YOU FOR FUN!
I was innocent
Why put an 8-year-old in steel bracelets?
Why tell a 10-year-old he will never make it?
You blame me for what you made me
I was a fucking baby!
In the land of freedom and opportunity
I’ve never had any
Those are too feeble for wish lists
Too abstract for my imaginary Serengeti
I would have grown up if you let me
Why didn’t you serve and protect ME?
17-years-old with a quarter century
I just needed help
But you wanted a statistic
What’s the point of growing old if it’ll make no difference?
I’ve been castigated
Hyper-criminalized and Marginalized
I’ve could’ve been you
Now I’m me
Grown out of the shades of doubt
I still matter
My aspirations have sprouted golden wings
I hope
Reaching for the stars
I’ve grown numb to the tear of your claws
Attempting to hold me down
I have risen
My soul boasts proudly my scars
I’m uniquely made
A collective of ingredients from hell’s kitchen
I’m shockingly amazed
By this man that was born from the child that was raised
In a cell
Yet I excel given the opportunity
Knowledge, wisdom, understanding
Educational qualities bestowed upon me
Instead of popping off like gun powder
I think
I’ve been castigated
Hyper-criminalized and Marginalized
Yet I succeed
Just think
You could’ve been me
Being Human
By Ian Valencia
I am but a human
Broken and flawed
Trying to survive the pressures of life
The crush of its jaws…
I am but a human
Both hopeful and humbled
Attempting to meet the expectations of life
Staying brave in its jungles…
I AM A HUMAN
Resilient and proud
Succeeding at paving new roads in life
A beacon of light in crowd…
I am a human
Nothing is ever too hard!
Embracing the challenges in my life
I shall boast of my scars…
I am Human
Foregoing war for peace
In search of meaning in this life
A caged bird awaiting release…
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